Anil withdraws defamation suit against Mukesh

June 08, 2010 03:33 pm | Updated November 28, 2021 08:53 pm IST - Mumbai

BL 16-6-2003 MUMBAI: Mr Mukesh Ambani, Chairman, Reliance Industries with Mr Anil Ambani, Vice Chairman at the Reliance Industrie AGM held in Mumbai.    PIX BY PAUL NORONHA NICAID:111389045

BL 16-6-2003 MUMBAI: Mr Mukesh Ambani, Chairman, Reliance Industries with Mr Anil Ambani, Vice Chairman at the Reliance Industrie AGM held in Mumbai. PIX BY PAUL NORONHA NICAID:111389045

In the spirit of truce arrived at with his elder brother; Anil Ambani on Tuesday dropped a Rs.10,000 crore defamation suit against Mukesh Ambani in the Bombay High Court.

“Yes, we have withdrawn the suit claiming Rs. 10,000 crore as damages”, a Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group spokesman told PTI.

The defamation suit was filed by Mr. Anil Ambani in September 2008 shortly after Mr. Mukesh’s RIL put a spoke in his attempts to acquire South African telecom giant MTN that year.

RIL had sent a legal notice to MTN asserting its right of first refusal on stake in RCom, a move that forced the Anil Ambani group to drop plans for a merger with the South African mobile company.

Incidentally, the defamation suit was dropped within days of RCom deciding to offload 26 per cent stake in a strategic sale.

Mr. Anil had dragged his brother to court, alleging that Mr. Mukesh had defamed him in an interview to New York Times (dated June 15, 2008) that was reproduced in two leading Indian newspapers. The two newspapers had also been made respondents in the suit. The suit against the newspapers has also been withdrawn.

The Ambani brothers signed a truce agreement late last month, ending a bitter public and legal battle despite arriving at a family settlement to divide the Reliance empire in 2005 based on a formula worked out by mother Kokilaben.

As part of the truce, the two brothers decided to scrap a non-compete agreement between their respective groups, a move that would give each side flexibility to utilise resources more efficiently and enter businesses hitherto inaccessible.

They had also pledged to expeditiously renegotiate a gas supply agreement on the lines of the Supreme Court verdict of May 7.

Announcing the truce, the two sides had said, “RIL and Reliance ADA group are hopeful and confident that all these steps would create an overall environment of harmony, cooperation and collaboration between the two groups, thereby further enhancing overall shareholder value for shareholders of both the groups.”

While RCom has already announced its intention to sell 26 per cent stake, as part of efforts to raise resources, there is speculation that cash-rich RIL could also venture into telecom arena soon and may partner Venugopal Dhoot-led Videocon’s telecom arm.

The Ambanis had parted ways in June 2005, and out of four of the last five years they have been engaged in a legal row over supply of gas from Mukesh-run RIL to Anil Ambani group’s RNRL.

A spokesperson for Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries declined to comment.

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